Monthly Archives: February 2017

Islands: Part of the solution to Europe’s 2030 Climate and Energy Challenges

As Europe moves towards the implementation of its 2030 climate and energy agenda and the broader Energy Union objectives, the European electricity sector fully recognises that islands will play an important role in ensuring their success. In this context EURELECTRICorganised a Workshop entitled “Islands: Part of the Solution to the 2030 Climate and Energy Challenges” in Brussels on 20 February 2017.

During the workshop, EURELECTRIC launched a report entitled “Towards an Energy Transition on Europe’s Islands” which highlights the energy situation of European islands. The report is an attempt to synthesise some of the flagship projects pioneered on several islands and showcasing sustainable solutions to the challenge of advancing energy transition efforts on islands. It also proposes how the positive experience from these projects and more systematised effort towards similar projects could be further streamlined to address the unique challenges faced by islands’ energy systems.

The focus of the workshop would be to present some of these success stories but also engage relevant stakeholders in a debate over how to take forward the positive but isolated impact of these projects in a more coordinated manner. In the age of rapid energy system decentralisation, renewables deployment, system smartification and digitalisation, solutions offering answers to challenges on islands are of value to decentralisation issues faced on the mainland as well. The workshop is a first step towards identifying areas requiring further European action as well as opportunities to islands as test-beds to technologies and services, which may prove key to unlocking energy challenges on the mainland.

SG responses to our questions

“ The things we stand to lose though leaving the EU membership and the Single Market are all things that we value and we do not want to lose them, so we will look very carefully at all the options presented in order to keep as many of the benefits of EU membership as we can.”

Our questions to the Scottish Government

Policies

What policies if any will be put in place at UK and Scottish level to replace the Cohesion Policy framework?

If such policies are to be established, how would the necessary Structural Funds be established and at what level would they be administered?

How would Scotland feed into that process? How would the communities most affected be engaged to support development of policies behind the funds?

We are not convinced the UK government has an interest in developing a cohesion policy that will be comprehensive enough to take into account Scottish islands’ needs or issues facing any peripheral area in Scotland. Is there appetite within the Scottish Government to challenge the UK Government on the crucial issue of Cohesion Policy replacement?

SG Response:

The Scottish Government supports the principles and benefits that underpins EU membership it and is looking at ways to continue with it. As expressed in the document “Scotland’s place in Europe”, the Scottish Government is committed to remain in the European Single Market, and this has been ratified by the Scottish Parliament’s vote on 17 January.

“ The things we stand to lose though leaving the EU membership and the Single Market are all things that we value and we do not want to lose them, so we will look very carefully at all the options presented in order to keep as many of the benefits of EU membership as we can.”

Structural funds

How can existing levels of funding be protected?

What will be asked of the UK Government in this respect?

What funding guarantees can the Scottish government ask or provide?

SG response: The Scottish Government is very well aware of the issues and aware of the islands’ concerns. “We will do what we can to protect the islands’ interests and we intend to ask all these questions to the UK Government.”

EU Cooperation

What measures are the Scottish Government prepared to take to ensure that cooperation with other EU island regions can continue?

SG response: Re EU cooperation, the Scottish Government has shared concerns and intends to do what it can for this to continue.

Island Farming and crofting

How can the Scottish government protect unique geographical origins and protected names, such as Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb? What about Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), which are of such importance for the islands?

How can free access to the European Single Market as proposed in “Scotland’s place in Europe” ensure agricultural goods and products are included?

What assurance can the Scottish Government give that any new policy framework for Scottish farmers and crofters (direct payments and rural development measures) will be adequately funded and will take into consideration the special situation of island agriculture?

SG response: Post-2020, the UK withdrawal from the EU will have implications for projects currently funded by the EU, and that will impact Scotland.

The Scottish Government indicated it will negotiate with the UK Government to ensure that future financial support for initiatives that currently receive European funds is allocated on a fair and equitable basis across the UK.

Environment

How is the Scottish Government planning to ensure that environmental protection which is crucial to the sensitive and fragile environment of Scotland’s islands will be continued?

What about the 2020 goals and commitments to lowering carbon consumption, notably through production of renewable energy? Scotland has already exceeded its targets and has positioned it self as a model of innovative technology in Europe. But we are concerned that the Scottish islands lead in renewable energy production may be further eroded and hampered as shown already by the lack of support for the shovel ready projects of Remote Island Wind in the Northern and Western Isles. It is difficult to see how island communities will be able to maintain our lead in innovation and carbon reduction and invest in further renewable energy schemes in the future, if access to EU funds is blocked and the UK government continues to take retrograde steps on renewables.

Local authorities

EU laws and regulations impact on many Council services, such as waste, employment, health and safety, consumer protection and trading and environmental standards, all of which affect the islands.

How will the Scottish government ensure that regulatory power over such services will not be simply transferred from Brussels to an indifferent Westminster regime?

SG response: re Social policies and environment standards, our concern for Scotland is that these can be maintained, and for these reasons we will look for more devolved powers to come to Scotland.

It is more than likely that constitutional arrangements in the UK post-Brexit will have to change.